


Unholy

by grahamhannah53



Series: Shinobi Blood Is Red, Shinobi Tears Are Blue [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff, Smut, Songfic, based on a hey violet song, leaf ninja are just something else, shikamaru is having none of this shit, shinobi blood is red, they give NO fucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:14:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21618961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grahamhannah53/pseuds/grahamhannah53
Summary: Temari is being forced into an arranged marriage by the elders of her village, but she manages to bargain for some time. She has persistent feelings for someone that is decidedly not her betrothed, and her heart is breaking with every day that draws her closer to matrimony. Fortunately for her, Shikamaru comes to the rescue with his team in tow to save the day- and hopefully get the girl.____________________________________________________This work is part of a series I'm writing called Shinobi Blood Is Red, Shinobi Tears Are Blue. For those of you who know colors, red and blue make purple, which is another word for violet. SO, to connect the dots, each of these fics will be based off of a Hey Violet song. If you will check the title, you'll see this one was based on the song "Unholy" by Hey Violet. (These fics are not necessarily related to one another-- if there is a prerequisite fic in the series, I will make note so everyone is on the same page... literally.)
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Series: Shinobi Blood Is Red, Shinobi Tears Are Blue [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543393
Comments: 17
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**_"I'm having thoughts all the time, you and I, and they won't go away._ **

**_I kinda like what it's like in my mind and I don't wanna be saved."_ **

**_Every night, I'm undressing with him and I'm thinking of you._ **

**_Yeah, I know it's the wrong thing to do, but I kinda want to."_ **

  
  


Temari of the Sand was well and truly miserable for a couple of reasons. 

Firstly, there was the whole "arranged marriage" thing to deal with. The  _ last  _ thing she wanted to do was marry— she was a strong kunoichi, a Sand sibling, and she would bow to no man no matter how great or small. As a wife, she would be expected not only to drop her career as a shinobi, but she would also be expected to be obedient and proper, to show her good breeding and the gentility befitting a princess such as herself. The thought of it made her sick, but the elders of the village kept pushing match upon match onto her until they realized that they would have to use force if they ever wanted to marry Temari off to the highest bidder— and they knew exactly what kind of ammunition to use.

Her brother, Gaara. 

The longer she denied the elders a match, the harder they were on Gaara and the progress he was trying to make in the village. Every time she turned down a spoiled son of a feudal lord, the elders would reject yet another policy Gaara was trying to implement. It was inevitable— Temari would have to choose a husband if she wanted her brother to be able to get anything done while he held the office of Kazekage. Of course, Gaara would never ask her to do such a thing, but Temari was a shinobi first, and the good of the village outweighed her own happiness.

So, in order to delay the inevitable, Temari struck a deal with them. 

In exchange for a finalized marriage to the person of the council's choosing, Temari would be given a betrothal period of a year. Within that year, she could do anything she wanted, including continuing in the shinobi way of life, but at the end of it, she would give it all up to be a "good and proper wife." Naturally, this deal pleased the elders, but Temari's mood darkened with every passing day, knowing that she was one day closer to being smothered by political responsibilities for the rest of her life.

As if that weren't enough, the second thing on her list of misery was the man that the council had chosen for her. Since they were to be married at the year's end, the two of them had agreed to see one another whenever he was in the neighborhood and Temari was back from missions in order to get to know each other, and Temari almost wished that she had refused. Their dates were awkward and clumsy (at least on her end), and she couldn't imagine spending more than five hours married to the man without flinging herself off of the nearest balcony.

Perhaps the worst part about the whole situation was that she wasn't sure  _ why  _ she felt that way. He wasn't not-handsome— he was strong and fit, with passable hair and shining eyes— but there was something about him that made her dislike him. He was soft and sweet, and kind and understanding, but there was no edge to him. His conversation was pleasant, but always shallow. Temari could count all the things she knew about him on one hand— His name was Mika, he liked horseback riding, he thought she was quite beautiful, and his favorite food was always whatever they were having that night for dinner. 

It was sickening. 

And last but not least, there was the root of the matter, the biggest source of her misery. Here in her room, in the quiet moments just before the sun began to set, she would often find letters from a friend. Her desk faced the desert sunset, and today, like many other days, a scroll sat atop it, addressed to her. It was no doubt in reply to the letter she had sent before, a painful mix between business and pleasure that she could hardly write in the face of her despondency.

The letter was from Nara Shikamaru of the Leaf Village, the man that had, against all odds, won her heart. 

It had started small, as an infatuation. Shikamaru was undeniably handsome, but lazy and always fussing about "troublesome women"— being a troublesome woman herself, Temari hadn't taken too kindly to that at all. But then in the chūnin exams, he'd well and truly beaten her, proving himself to be quite a genius, and then what with the alliance, they'd been coming to one another's rescue ever since The Sasuke Incident. Shikamaru had proven himself a kind, loyal, and steadfast friend, and Temari was both attracted to and intimidated by his strategic intelligence. Because of their friendship and rapport, they served as liaisons for their villages, sending messages back and forth on matters of state and what have you, but at some point it had become…  _ more  _ than that. It was hard to explain, because there was so much underneath that was hidden beneath the underneath that Temari found it difficult to put into words. 

In the end, it all boiled down to this fact— she had the hots for a lazy Leaf-nin that just so happened to also be a sexy genius who paid her feminine wiles no mind at all. 

Today's letter, though, was a little different than usual. Shikamaru seemed to have forgotten about their business talk, and had instead focused on the despair that Temari had conveyed regarding her betrothal. The letter read thusly:

_ 'Temari, _

_ It sounds like you're not having the best time. I think it's a damn shame— you're a fine kunoichi and a great asset to Suna's military. Archaic ways that still manage to weasel their way into modern affairs often weaken what could stand strong. There are many traditions that are helpful and good, but forcing anyone to marry is beyond ridiculous.  _

_ I digress— I may have been overstepping my bounds. I'll try to refrain from mentioning it again. In any case, I think I can arrange a face-to-face meeting with you about the business in our last letter. I need some time out of Konoha, and you sound like you could use a friend. I'll try to be there as soon as I can.  _

_ Until then, be well.  _

_ Nara Shikamaru' _

Against her will, a warmth of fondness swelled in her chest, and she found herself wishing that he were there already. He occupied her thoughts often enough that she could imagine that he was there, advising and comforting her every step of the way, but to have him actually there to learn on for support was a dream come true. 

There were two sharp knocks at her chamber door, and Temari fought back a groan as she realized what she'd nearly forgotten. Mika was back in the village, and he was here to call on her— not for a date this time, but for sex. There was nothing Temari wanted  _ less  _ than to have to so much as look at her betrothed without his clothes on, but she could hardly refuse him since they'd made a habit of it. At first, she'd agreed to see Mika intimately because she thought it might help her find  _ something _ she liked about him, but as it turned out, he was the worst lover she'd ever had. 

"Temari-chan, I'm here!"

"Enter," she replied, trying not to sound as unenthused and she felt. 

It was torture to roll up her letter and greet her betrothed, but Temari somehow managed to survive it, along with the obligatory and painfully mundane pre-sex small talk they always had. 

"How was your day, Temari?"

"Good, and yours?"

"Excellent. I trust your missions have been successful?"

"Naturally."

"Good."

And then he began to kiss her— if the wet, sloppy mouthing-over he was giving her could be called kissing. Unable to bear the thought of what was happening (and what would inevitably happen next) Temari screwed her eyes tightly shut and conjured the image of Shikamaru in her mind, focusing on his dark, piercing gaze and the wicked curve of his smirk. She wondered what it would be like to have him kiss her instead of Mika— she wondered if he knew how to touch a woman, if that came as naturally to him as strategy, or if she would need to take the reigns and teach him a few things. 

Either way, she knew he would be a quick study, and she wasn't sure if she  _ couldn't  _ push the thought of him away or if she just didn't want to. Shikamaru was on her mind all the time anyways— Temari knew it was wrong to think of him even as she was undressing with the man she was to marry, but it was a habit and she couldn't bring herself to feel any remorse. No matter how far she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, they wouldn't go away, and she wasn't sure she wanted them to. Thinking of him was the only thing keeping her sane in moments of misery such as these. 

"Oh, Temari," Mika moaned, and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. 

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**_"Say your name while our tongues are tied,_ **

**_Getting shivers all down my spine._ **

**_We're in bed, we're in bed, yeah, in my mind."_ **

  
  


It had been weeks since Temari had gotten her letter from Shikamaru saying that he would come to meet her in Suna, and yet he had not written in response to her reply and there was no word of his coming. It weighed heavily on her mind, and she turned down missions for a while so that she could wait for word from him. She hoped that he hadn't run into any complications or been assigned any mission himself— it was shameful how disappointed she would be if he weren't coming. 

Meanwhile, time off from mission meant more time with Mika, which meant that Temari felt like stabbing everyone around her more than usual. In an effort to fix her foul mood, Mika tried many ways to cheer her up— ways that mostly consisted of terrible sex and even worse emotional talks. Out of the two, Temari (surprisingly) preferred the sex because at least he didn't say so many stupid things while they were fucking. Unfortunately, this led to what was almost a very awkward situation that may or may not have had the potential to ruin her reputation as well as Konoha's 

Temari wasn't sure if it was her intense longing for Shikamaru or if it was simply the fact that she hadn't had had sex without thinking of him in a while that led to her almost-tragic slip of the tongue, but whatever the reason, in the middle of being kissed by Mika, she groaned the first two syllables of Shikamaru's name. 

_ "Oh, Shika… " _

Mika jerked away as though he'd been stung, his unpleasantly thin lips colored cherry red. "What did you say?"

Thinking as fast as she could, Temari giggled sweetly, recalling every cover-up tactic that undercover training had provided her with. "Oh, Mika, you've got me so caught up in your love that I can hardly even speak correctly. I can't even recall my own name— how am I supposed to remember how to say yours when you're kissing me like that?"

It worked like a charm. Mika smiled like he'd won the lottery and threaded a hand through her hair, as happy as could be. Funny creatures, men— stroke their ego and they believe anything they're told. 

Still, it was too close of a call for Temari's comfort. She couldn't believe that she'd made such a slip— she was a shinobi! A shinobi who went on undercover missions as often as not. How could she have been so careless? So stupid? So completely and utterly foolish?

Such were her thoughts when Gaara summoned her to his office that evening, and he could tell just by looking at her that something was wrong. 

"Temari, sit," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Pale blue eyes scanned over her, analyzing, assessing. "Ah. Something is wrong. What troubles you?"

And that's when it all came out. 

She told Gaara of the deal she'd made with the elders, how much she hated Mika, and how she wanted nothing more than to cry herself to sleep every night that she had to live this way. Gaara listened as she shed tears, and even though his face was as expressionless as ever, Temari knew that he was feeling guilty for the decision that she'd made without his consent and that his heart ached for her fate. At the end of her rant, he stood gracefully from his seat and walked to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her forehead the way their mother used to do. 

"I'm sorry, Temari." His voice was as soft as ever, and she could tell that he felt the weight of her burden just as acutely as she herself did. "I can try to find a way to change things, but if I can't… "

"Oh Gaara, you don't have to do that," she sniffled, clasping one of his hands in both of hers. "I made the deal myself and I won't shirk my duties to the village— "

"— it's hardly your duty to— "

"I am a shinobi first and the good of this village is my priority," Temari insisted, turning her heavy eyes up to meet her little brother's, trying to make him understand that they had no choice. " _ You  _ are my priority. You're the Kazekage, and you need their support. They won't give you the backing you need unless I go through with this."

Gaara was silent, but she could practically hear his teeth grinding together as he clenched his jaw. In the end, he only shook his head and sighed, looking even more tired than he had before Temari had come into his office. 

"I'll look into that mess when I've had more sleep," he told her, retracting his hand to adjust his hat. "I had the page summon you to my office to tell you that your friend, the Nara from the Leaf, is on his way here. He should be in the village within the next two days." After a moment of thought, Gaara added, "Perhaps he can help with this, too. He's a strategic genius— if he can't think his way around this dumpster-fire, I doubt anyone can."

Temari couldn't agree more. 

Realizing that their meeting was coming to a close (mostly because Gaara looked like he might fall over from exhaustion), she stood and embraced her brother, thankful for his empathy. She expressed her gratitude and let him walk her to her chambers, where she would have flopped face-forward onto her mattress and slept off the headache her crying had given her if she hadn't noticed a thin scroll sitting on her desk. With barely contained enthusiasm, she opened it to reveal only a few words typical of Shikamaru when he was on the move. Nevertheless, no matter how short it was, the letter was a balm to her wounded spirit, and it simply read,

_ 'Help is on the way.' _

What truly comforting words— Temari almost thought she could sleep easy, knowing that help was indeed on the way, and that there might be some hope of changing her current circumstances. 

_ And if nothing else,  _ Temari thought wickedly to herself as she held the scroll close to her chest.  _ I'll get to ogle him in that mesh shirt, and that will have made it all worthwhile in the end.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im SO EXCITED for the next chapter, I cant wait to finish it!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**_"Don't say it's unholy_ **

**_If I let you come hold me._ **

**_I know it's wrong that I want to be here in your arms,_ **

**_But tonight I'm so lonely."_ **

  
  


Temari was training when Shikamaru arrived in the village. She was crying and screaming and ripping up the scant vegetation of the training ground like she had gone stark raving mad. Her knuckles were bleeding, her throat was raw, and she was so full of anger and the deepest sorrow that she'd ever felt that she didn't even notice his presence until he tapped her on the shoulder.

Naturally, the moment his finger came in contact with her, she had a kunai at his throat, but he should never have gotten that close. 

"Well, then," Shikamaru chuckled, smirking lazily as Temari lowered her kunai. "That was a hell of a welcome."

If there were any tears left to cry, Temari would have cried them, but all she could manage was a heavy sigh. She knew she looked like hell— her eyes were probably red, her nose was snotty, and her whole face felt swollen— but Shikamaru pulled her into an embrace, snot and all. 

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Shikamaru murmured, pulling away and guiding her by the elbow. 

They walked to the end of the training ground where Shikamaru's team was waiting for them, and Temari felt herself smile at the sight of Yamanaka Ino, who was waving to her enthusiastically. Ino was a cocky, vain thing, all sex appeal and feminine wiles, but she was tenacious in her love and defence of her fellow woman, ever a loudmouth champion for her sisters. It felt good, knowing that someone like Ino would be there— there was comfort to be found in a fellow woman, especially one that didn't have any ingrained respect and reverence for Temari's position in the village. Ino, like most shinobi hailing from Konoha, didn't give a rat's ass about who Temari was related to, and would tell her exactly what she thought at any given time. It was… refreshing. 

"Temari-chan!" Ino greeted her, pulling her into a hug. "You look like hell. What's happened?"

"More than I can tell you about in an hour," Temari replied with a small chuckle, and Ino shook her head. 

"Then let me heal your hands before we meet with Gaara-sama, and later we can make plans for a sleepover," Ino replied, looping her arm through Temari's. "Everything is better with wine and junk food, and I just so happen to have brought with me a special vintage from Konoha that I managed to wrest from the hands of Tsunade-sama herself!"

_ That,  _ Temari found hard to believe— Tsunade was a hell of a drinker and even better fighter, and unless Ino used some Yamanaka mind jutsu, it was highly unlikely that she'd taken anything from the Sanin. In the grand scheme of things, though, it hardly mattered how Ino came into possession of her goods— if there was wine and an excuse to tell everyone else to get lost for the night involved, Temari was in. 

As the four of them made their way to Gaara's office, they each chatted about how life had been since they'd last been together, and the longer they talked, the better she felt. She wondered if Shikamaru had planned this from the start, knowing that Ino's charm and Choji's humor would lift her spirits, or if it was sheer coincidence that she enjoyed their company so much, but in the end, that didn't matter either. In truth, Temari was just glad to be among friends. 

When they arrived at Gaara's office, the meeting was brief and simple— Shikamaru and Temari were to discuss policies for the newly formed Academy in the Sand Village, work out an effective curriculum similar to that of the Leaf, and devise a way to implement their ideas without  _ offending  _ anyone. It was a massive project to be sure, but one that Temari accepted with glee. It would give her something to take her mind off of her misery  _ and  _ allow her to spend one-on-one time with Shikamaru to boot. Meanwhile, Ino was to work with Suna's medi-nins, training them to work more efficiently. Choji was to make sure Ino didn't get… distracted. 

All in all, it was perfect. 

"Well, there's no reason why we shouldn't get to work immediately," Shikamaru shrugged, glancing at Temari, who nodded in agreement. Ino elbowed Choji, who caught on and echoed the sentiment, and Gaara gave them to go-ahead to begin working. 

That was how Ino ended up dragging Choji away from his best friend to babysit her as she worked in the hospital, and Shikamaru ended up falling into step with Temari in the direction of her chambers. By all reasoning, the silence between the two of them should have been awkward, but Temari was almost comforted by the fact that she didn't have to say anything at all if she didn't want to. Shikamaru was ever content to let her do as she pleased, never asking anything of her at all. She was almost surprised when she found herself striking up a conversation. 

"Thank you, Shikamaru."

With his trademark Nara smirk, he replied, "For what? Bringing Ino or letting Ino bring the wine?"

Unbidden, laughter bubbled in her chest and spilled out her mouth, and she giggled like a schoolgirl. Shikamaru laughed with her until they were both breathless, standing outside her front door. 

"For the record," she wheezed, leaning against her door frame as she disabled her wards, "The answer to that is yes."

Another cackle burst forth from Shikamaru as he followed her in, and without thinking, she threw her arms around him in a bear hug as he shut the door behind them. 

"I've missed you," she sighed into his vest, clinging to him as if for dear life. 

"I've missed you too, Temari." His voice was smooth as silk and as warm as freshly brewed tea, and full of affection… was that affection for her? Truly? It was hard to believe, but he held her so tightly that she could almost be convinced that it was. 

"Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked, pulling away to pierce her with that sharp, calculating gaze. His hands rested on her shoulders, and though he wasn't too much taller than her, Temari felt small, maybe even a little fragile. It wasn't something she allowed herself to feel around just anyone, but she trusted Shikamaru with this side of herself implicitly. 

That being said, she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. 

"No, I'm not," she admitted, unable to break eye contact. 

Shikamaru nodded, understanding. "Tell me what you need."

And wasn't that the bitch of it? Temari didn't know what she needed. There was nothing that she could possibly think of to fix it, nothing that would lessen the burden that sat on her shoulders. What she needed… well, at least what she wanted… she just wanted to be held. 

"We don't have to work right now, you know, we can chill for a bit," he suggested, nodding towards the bed. "You're probably really tired from all the training you were doing earlier."

Temari raised a teasing brow at that. _Oh, I'm_ _going to get him good._ "Are you saying that we should nap together?"

A blush raged red across his cheeks, and he was quick to splutter his disagreement. "N-no! I didn't say anything about that, I just meant that you were probably tired and I could let you rest while I just hang out— "

Oh, it was only getting better. Temari couldn't hide her grin as she folded her arms. "So now you want to  _ watch  _ me sleep?"

"What? Of course not, that's so creepy!" Now, Shikamaru was beginning to be truly distraught, which was not what Temari had intended. "I just— I guess I'll just leave so you can— "

Gently, Temari grabbed his wrist, and he met her eyes as she smiled. "Stay, Shikamaru. Would napping with me be so bad?"

"You…  _ want  _ me to nap with you?" he asked, scratching the back of his head as though befuddled. 

"If you're not opposed," she replied, taking her fan off of her back. 

Shikamaru snorted, but his blush was still present and glowing. "I do love naps, after all. You're looking at Konoha's laziest shinobi."

"So what are we waiting for?"

Shikamaru shrugged, unzipping his vest and stripping down to his uniform pants and mesh shirt that she so loved. By that time, Temari was down to her undershirt and shorts, already under the covers and waiting for him. Hesitant at first, he joined her, and then inched closer as if becoming more comfortable with the idea of being in bed next to her. It would almost have been comical if Temari's heart rate hadn't been through the roof. In a stroke of boldness, she snuggled against Shikamaru's side, laying her head on his chest, and he brought his arm around to rest his hand on her back, and everything felt perfect. 

They stayed that way for a while— probably half an hour. Temari couldn't sleep, and judging by his breathing patterns, neither could Shikamaru, but she never wanted to move. A small part of her brain was screaming at her that this was disloyal to Mika, that she owed her betrothed better treatment than this, but she couldn't find it within herself to give a shit— not when Shikamaru smelled so nice and was so warm and soft and perfect. Eventually, though, what comes up must come out, and she found herself posing her own musings to Shikamaru in quite a loaded question. 

"Do you think this is wrong?" she murmured into the mesh of his shirt. "Us, here, this?"

Shikamaru sighed, and she knew his eyes were on her, thinking, assessing. "Maybe, depending on perspective."

"Well, what about your perspective?" she asked, noting the increased rise and fall of his chest. Her arm was flung over his waist, and she reflexively pulled him closer, fearing his response. 

"Temari." His voice was colored with warning, saying to her, 'Once said, the answer to your question can't be unsaid,' but she had to know. 

"Please, Shikamaru."

With a heavy sigh, he shifted his position, sitting upright on the bed, forcing her to look him in the eye. Temari swallowed thickly and braced herself for whatever would come next. 

"I didn't come all this way to talk business," he told her unnecessarily, reaching out to clasp her hand. "I came because you needed a friend, and because it's always easier to go through something with someone who is on your side."

Shikamaru paused, and Temari could have sworn that her heart ceased to beat in anticipation of what he would say next. She was hoping and praying and yet she wished she had never asked anything of him, but now it was too late, and his next sentence was on the tip of his tongue. 

"But I also had a very selfish reason for coming," he admitted, placing his hands in the O-shaped position he used when he was faced with a difficult strategic problem to detangle. "I came because there was something I wanted you to know, something that I've been hiding and repressing. Temari… I love you." 

"Shikamaru— "

He held up a hand. "I'm not finished. So, to answer your question, for me to lay here, loving you the way I do, and knowing you're betrothed… well, that would be wrong."

Temari blinked, dumbstruck for all of a second and a half, then she launched herself across the space that separated them and kissed her genius Leaf-nin until he was only a couple kisses away from stupid. 

"I love you, Shikamaru," she breathed, and he chuckled against her lips. 

"Mm, you know, I gathered that," he teased, flinching even before she smacked him playfully. 

"Baka."

Shikamaru only rolled his eyes. "Troublesome woman."

"Well, I'm  _ your  _ troublesome woman," she laughed, leaning into his side, but she all but felt his frown. 

"I wish that were true."

Those words cut Temari deeply. She knew they were double-edged, slicing him open even as she had been cut, but that didn't make it any easier to bear. 

"I've been so lonely, Shikamaru," she told him, and he held her close. "I can't marry him. It will kill me."

"I'll do my damnedest to get you out of it, Temari," he promised, pressing a kiss against her forehead that sent warmth spreading through her chest. "And if not, Gaara gave me permission to fake your death and whisk you away to Konoha."

"Did he really?" Temari giggled, imagining her stoic brother saying something so ridiculous.

"Well, it was implied."

"Implied how?"

Shikamaru's grin told Temari that she'd never know. "None of your concern."

Temari would have pressed the matter if a loud series of knocks hadn't interrupted them. 

"Temari-chan! Shikamaru-kun! Put your clothes on and answer the door," Ino called, much louder than Temari was comfortable with. "I brought the wine and everything!"

"It isn't even five o'clock," Temari grumbled, but shrugged on her outer layers of clothing and opened the door. 

Ino had indeed brought the wine, as well as a double-armful of junk food, plus whatever Choji had in the bags he was carrying. Without waiting to be invited in, Ino shoved past Temari, setting down her bags and flashing her a wicked grin. 

"It's time to have some fun," Ino declared, folding her arms. "If you're a party pooper, you have to leave."

"You can't make me leave, this is my room!" Temari protested. 

"Ah-ah. You forget about my special talent," Ino tutted playfully, handing Temari a glass of wine. "I actually can."

"I would never let her," Shikamaru interjected, but Ino simply shoved a glass into his hands and told him to shut up before he made her smack him. 

In no time, all four of them were drunk on the floor beside Temari's bed, giggling and snacking and being totally unproductive. They played Truth or Dare, Never Have I Ever, and a sick game Ino invented called The FlipFlop Game— and the details of the game would be listed, only what happens in the game  _ stays  _ in the game, and with good reason. All in all, Temari was having the time of her life, to the point where she wasn't even sad when Ino banished the boys from the room (around midnight, or so Temari learned), declaring that it was time for the grown-ups to talk. 

And talk they did. 

Temari was almost sick of telling the story, but something about Drunk Ino's insight made it worthwhile. She unloaded once more while Ino listened sagely, nodding occasionally and making ugly faces in all the right places. Once all was said and done, Temari steeled herself to hear something truly profound, and Ino delivered. 

"Fuck that," she articulated quite well for someone as sloshed as she was. "If he's so stupid that he can't figure out where your clit is, then he should probably die. It's natural selection. I could kill him for you. Or possess him and make him humiliate himself and everyone around him enough to make them want to kill him."

"You would kill for me?" Temari asked, more moved by Ino's words than a more sober Temari would have been. 

"Female solidarity," Ino replied solemnly, flopping back on Temari's bed. "No one should have to marry such a dick anyways."

Temari snorted. "Dick? He barely has one."

Ino nearly choked to death on her own spit from laughing at that, and as the red-faced Leaf-nin recovered, leaning heavily against Temari and smelling like the wine they'd been drinking, Temari wondered if defecting to Konoha would be so bad after all. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you dont know what the flip flop game is.... gimme a holler in the comments and I will explain what a terrible idea it is to play and why you should always play it whenever you have a chance!


	4. Chapter 4

**_"If he knew what I thought about you, it would break his heart,_ **

**_And I wish that I could, but I can't make the fantasies stop._ **

**_Everybody's downstairs, I can hear them talking through the floor—_ **

**_So convenient for you to pull me into a room and lock the door."_ **

The next few days (aside from Temari's hangover the next day) were bliss. Mika was away for a while, and Temari and Shikamaru were inseparable. Of course, they really did work on the Academy plans (which led to bickering, frustration, and eventually passionate kissing until they settled back down and got to work once again to eliminate whatever was causing the conflict to begin with), but they always made time for meals with Ino and Choji, who were always exchanging knowing glances as if it wasn't perfectly obvious what they were thinking about. 

That is, the nature of Temari's relationship with Shikamaru. 

They hardly made it a secret that they admired one another— Temari could hardly control her own body language when it came to him, and Shikamaru was no different when it came to her. Their lingering glances and doe eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything but romantic, and it would surely get out of hand if they were the slightest bit less discreet. It was all very cliché, like something from a romance novel, but there was no trouble in their paradise… 

That is, until Mika returned from his estate. 

There was no fanfare announcing his arrival— in fact, there never was— but Temari had almost been expecting an announcement, a forewarning so that she could prepare both herself and Shikamaru to face the change in atmosphere. She had no such luck, but instead was gifted with a surprise visit in the middle of her presentation of the tentative plans she and Shikamaru made.

"... and then we begin to teach them about the foundation of the village," she told Gaara as the door to his office opened behind her. "I think it would be best if we— oh."

A hand had reached out toward her shoulder, but she jerked away from the touch until she realized that it was Mika's hand. Automatically, she switched to her Fake Smile and opened her arms to him, cringing internally. 

"Temari, darling, you look lovely as always," Mika said as he embraced her. "I take it things are well with you?"

"Better than ever!"

It wasn't a lie— now that Shikamaru was here, she was having a wonderful time— but Mika's appearance made her a little less than thrilled. In fact, she went into full panic mode. There was no way she could hide her attraction to Shikamaru, not even from Mika, who had all the brainpower of a rat. In fact, the only way for her to keep her cool would be the thing that would hurt her the most. 

She would just have to pretend that Shikamaru wasn't there. 

  
  


***

  
  


This shit was getting old. 

Shikamaru was frustrated beyond belief. Every time he began a sentence, Temari would cut him off to talk to 'Mika-kun,' who very much reminded him of a weasel. Shikamaru didn't trust him an inch, but Temari practically fawned over him. It was so fake that he would have laughed if only he hadn't been so very deeply hurt that she felt the need to ignore him entirely. 

Surprisingly, Shikamaru managed to make it through lunch without  _ too  _ many fleeting thoughts of homicide. He didn't even throw up any when Mika kissed Temari in front of him, which was a feat in and of itself. For hours, he struggled with the urge to scream and shadow-strangle himself and/or Mika, unsure what he hated the most about the whole damn situation. It was worse than his training to resist interrogation— it riled something within him, an ugly, nasty emotion called jealousy. 

So difficult was it to bear that Shikamaru counted it a win that he was able to wait until they were upstairs to pull Temari into a room and lock the door to confront her about this  _ nonsense.  _

"Temari, what the hell?" he demanded, rounding on her as soon as the door was safely locked. Even though he felt immediate regret at seeing the raw hurt and fear in her bottomless teal eyes, he didn't back down from his stance, towering over her. 

"What are you talking about?" She seemed genuinely confused, so Shikamaru decided that he'd best make things abundantly clear. 

"You haven't even looked me in the face since that pig fiancé of yours got here, that's what I'm talking about!"

"I'm just doing what I have to!" she insisted as her expression darkened, unwilling to be intimidated. "You  _ know  _ we can't let him know about us."

"That doesn't mean that you have to completely ignore me," he snapped, just barely resisting the urge to take the beautiful woman in front of him and shake her until she came to her senses. "In fact, it makes things even less discrete! It's well known that you and I are friends. What's he thinking now that you've been treating me like roadside trash?"

"Okay, well what do you suggest, Mister Tactical Master?" Temari hissed, now as angry as Shikamaru himself. 

"Well, nothing now that he's seen your marvelous acting," Shikamaru grumbled, considering. "I— I just— I was shocked, I guess. I just didn't think you would react like that."

What he really wanted to say was  _ you hurt me  _ and  _ I want you to look at  _ me  _ like you've been looking at him _ , but he thought better of it. 

Temari sighed, reaching for his hand. Reluctantly, he gave it, and she used it to yank him to her and into an embrace.

"Shikamaru, this doesn't mean I love you any less. In fact, I just don't think I can hide what I feel for you from anyone, not even  _ him _ , if I allow myself to let loose with you even a little. And even though it doesn't make any difference, if he knew what I thought about you, I really think it would break his heart." Her head was resting on his chest, and Shikamaru wondered if she could hear how fast his heart was beating. "I don't want to mess this up for us. You mean too much. You make me  _ feel  _ too much."

_ Damn. _

Shikamaru exhaled heavily. "This is hard."

"Nearly impossible," Temari agreed. 

"But not quite. We just need some time and a plan."

"We're short on both."

Unable to resist, Shikamaru cracked a smile at the irony. "When I'm in trouble, you come to save me. When you're in trouble, I come to save you. If we're both in trouble, it seems to me like there's no one to save the both of us."

Temari smirked at that. "We always have Ino."

"I'd trust Choji first."

"Trust a man in the matters of love?"

Shikamaru shrugged, grinning. "Why not?"

"Because you're yelling at me in a broom closet."

Shikamaru couldn't argue with that, but he  _ could  _ fix it. 

"Would you rather we be doing something else?"

Temari snorted. "Are you kidding? We can't actually—  _ mph. _ "

Shikamaru cut her off with a bruising kiss, and without protest, she melted against him as he nipped her lip lightly. 

Kissing Temari was perfect, and everything Shikamaru had ever imagined. It was easy to get drunk on her sighs and the shivers that ran down his spine when she took a fistful of his hair and  _ pulled _ . He thought he was lazy before, but now there was nothing he'd rather do than just kiss away the day with his princess. 

That, and slip a hand down her shirt to play with her nipples, which she then grabbed and stuck between her legs— a new but welcome occurrence.

Deftly, he stroked her wetness, gentle, teasing, until Temari growled and told him that if he didn't stop teasing her, she was going to cut off that hand and feed it to Kankuro for supper, at which point Shikamaru decided to quit while he was ahead and give her what she (probably) wanted. He at least hoped she  _ liked  _ oral, because it would be rather awkward if he went to all the trouble of kneeling and putting his face between her legs just to be told she was squicked. 

(As it turned out, Temari liked it very much— so much that she drew blood biting her hand to keep from crying out.)

As for the rest of the day, Temari still ignored him in Mika's presence, but her small, knowing glances and the taste of her still fresh on his tongue had Shikamaru grinning like a fool.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO this is raw and unedited but I wanted to update something before the new year got here and I was inspired by fmalover07 to write and update this fic... so here you are!!!

**_"Say you want me and don't be nice,_ **

**_Send those shivers running down my spine,_ **

**_We're in bed, we're in bed, yeah, in my mind."_ **

  
  


Temari was exhausted. 

Between juggling work time with Shikamaru (and relationship time with Shikamaru), "dates" with Mika, sparring/venting sessions with Ino, and plotting with Gaara on how to break off her engagement without completely destroying every societal rule ever, she had little time to do trivial things like sleep and eat… and, truth be told, even her bathroom breaks were beginning to be kind of short too. Given that, when Gaara announced that Suna would be hosting a fancy ball to welcome the neighboring feudal lord's visit, it wasn't a surprise that Temari face palmed and felt very much like punching someone in the throat. 

"I don't even have anything to wear," she moaned to Ino, who had stars in her eyes at the prospect of a ball with strong, handsome men to flirt with. 

"Oh, that's no problem at all," Ino laughed, her expression positively evil. "We're going shopping."

From the start, Temari knew that shopping with Ino was a bad idea, but in all fairness, it was the best bad idea that Temari had ever agreed to go through with. Between dressing-room hissy-fits, they snacked and talked and laughed at funny stories about Shikamaru that Ino had collected over the years, and eventually, they  _ did  _ find a very nice dress for Temari and… well, Temari wasn't sure there was enough fabric in what Ino bought to call it a  _ dress _ , but it was slinky and very sexy, if a little too risque for Temari's own taste. 

The day of the ball proved that Temari's dress was, in fact, a perfect choice.

"I had  _ no idea  _ you looked that good in lilac!" Ino gushed as they were getting ready for the ball. "All I ever see you in is dark, depressing clothes— you really need to consider a wardrobe update."

"Oh yeah, miss I don't-wear-anything-but-purple?" Temari quipped, only halfway snappy as she studied herself in the mirror. The dress was long and flowing, with a decent neckline that dipped into a comfortable 'V' and slits cut up the side to show peeks of toned leg as Temari moved. It really was a gorgeous dress, and relatively inexpensive— perfect for Temari's needs. She hadn't worn anything so pretty in a long time, and she felt almost out of place.

"Well,  _ this _ isn't purple," Ino smirked, gesturing to the sequined  _ thing  _ she had shimmied herself into. Really, if the Leaf kunoichi had just covered herself with glue and rolled in glitter, it would have had the same effect as her outfit, and Temari couldn't help but laugh. 

"No, but you might as well be naked."

"Preposterous!" Ino giggled. "I'm showing just enough to make them want to see it all."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Right."

"Just you wait and see, the first man we pass will have eyes only for me," Ino declared, stuffing her foot into her matching silver pumps. 

"Yeah, he'll be too horrified to look away."

Ino winked. "Depends on the man."

In that sense, Ino was right. It really did depend on the man in question, because when they passed Shikamaru in a corridor, he nearly tripped over his own feet— but not because he was looking at Ino. No, his eyes were glued to Temari, and he caught her by the arm, his gaze dark and hungry. 

"Temari, may I speak with you for a moment?" He asked, seeming the perfect gentleman to anyone outside of those that knew him well. "In private?"

Ino hadn't even stopped walking, and blew a kiss over her shoulder along with a knowing look, leaving the two of them alone in the corridor. 

Temari would have laughed at her silly friend, but the weight of Shikamaru's tension was a little too heavy for that.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Nara-san?" she teased, finding herself a little breathless as Shikamaru took a step closer to her. 

"I want you," he said simply, leaning down to almost brush their noses together. Temari's heart pounded in her chest as his dark eyes pinned her where she stood. "I want you all to myself tonight, I want to take you and hide you away from  _ him  _ for an evening instead of the other way around."

"Shikamaru… " Temari didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure there were words for what she wanted to convey, but she intended to try. "You know we… that I… "

Shikamaru held up a hand. "It's okay, I know. We'll go to this party and—"

"— Shikamaru— "

"— watch Ino flirt obscenely with your little  _ Mika-kun _ —"

"— Shika, listen— "

"— and he won't respond  _ even a little bit  _ because he's too fucking stupid to know flirting from a horse's ass— "

_ Fuck it.  _

"Shikamaru!"

" _ What? _ " He demanded, and Temari grabbed him by his (soft, probably silk) formal robe and slammed him against one of the doors along the corridor hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

"If you don't pick a room to fuck me in  _ this instant _ I swear by all the Kages that I will never speak to you again," she huffed, and Shikamaru's eyes went wide as saucers. 

"... oh. O-okay," he stuttered, his tactical genius having obviously failed to predict that particular reaction from Temari. Her grin of satisfaction only melted away once a door was locked behind them and Shikamaru kissed her breathless. 

"Are we ever gonna use something besides a storage closet for our forays?" Temari giggled as she teased Shikamaru's cock through his pants. 

"Well, I was hoping that our first time together would be in a slightly more… romantic setting," he grunted, rolling one of Temari's nipples between his fingers, which in turn made her gasp at the pleasure building low in her belly. 

"Hoping for a candle-lit dinner and a soft mattress, huh," Temari chuckled, then groaned as Shikamaru's deft fingers found her clit. 

"Well, it was more along the lines of  _ 'not a storage closet,'  _ but you could say that—  _ mph.  _ "

Temari cut him off with a kiss and shoved his pants down, effectively turning off his 'genius shinobi' brain and turning on his 'primal needs' brain. In the back of her mind, she knew that this was reckless and stupid, but she wanted Shikamaru so very badly that she couldn't find it within herself to care. Hang Mika, hang the elders, hang the whole bloody village for all she was concerned— Temari had spent enough nights pretending, imagining Shikamaru fucking her. She was ready to see what it was really like. 

And boy, did she ever.

The positioning was admittedly a little awkward at first, but after a few moments of struggling, Shikamaru growled,  _ "Fuck it,"  _ and used his shadows to suspend Temari in the air, not unlike a sex swing in that it supported her while it hooked around her knees to put her exactly where Shikamaru wanted her. 

"My own version of Naruto's Sexy Jutsu," he said by way of explanation, and Temari smacked him. 

"If you don't shut up and fuck me, I will leave you right here to jerk off by yourself," she snapped, and then she could no longer think because Shikamaru slammed himself inside her all the way to the hilt. 

Oh, the stretch of him… and the angle was  _ just so  _ that she was teetering on the edge from the very beginning. With his hair falling out of his ponytail and his gaze so dark and predatory, Shikamaru looked like something out of a porn magazine, and when he shoved his fingers in her mouth to keep her from whimpering so loudly, Temari came so hard she saw stars. 

Not long after, Shikamaru came into his hand, which he wiped unceremoniously on a mop, and Tenari made a gagging noise. 

"What, would you rather me have ruined your pretty dress?" He grumbled, releasing his shadows. 

"No, I would rather you have let me lick it off of your fingers," she teased, yelping lightly as Shikamaru yanked her to him to kiss her long and full. 

When he pulled away, they both looked starstruck. 

"Troublesome woman."

Without another word, he opened the door to the closet, looked around, then led Temari out, offering her his arm. Still flushed from their sex, Temari took his arm, and let him escort her to the doors that would lead to the ball, where they would have to part… 

But then a scream rang out, and Shikamaru yanked open the doors and shoved Temari behind him in one fluid motion. 

"Shikamaru, Temari!" Ino called, catching sight of them even as she moved in the opposite direction. "Come quickly, someone has poisoned Gaara!"

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehe......


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I feel like this sucked a little, but it's all I got right now, so I hope you enjoy!

**_"We're face to face, and my heart is racing,_ **

**_I can taste temptation—_ **

**_I know that you like it, you don't even have to hide it."_ **

  
  


It was all too easy. 

Temari knew exactly who the culprit would be. The moment Ino said "poison," her eyes locked with Mika's, and killing intent flooded the room as she found the truth written there in his eyes. 

Poison, as the saying goes, is a coward's weapon— those words rang true for Mika, because he turned and ran as soon as she took a step toward him. Shikamaru darted ahead, running after him, and Temari followed suit, but stopped in her tracks when she remembered  _ why  _ she was so angry with Mika. 

"Ino," she called, about to tell the other kunoichi to take care of her brother, but Ino was already pushing healing chakra into his belly. 

"Go!" Ino ordered, jerking her head towards Mika's escape. "Catch the bastard and bring him to me— I've got some jutsus he won't like at all."

And so Temari took off like a shot, reaching out with her chakra to locate Shimamaru, who had doubtless already accosted the dirty, slimy, backstabbing sonofabitch that she was supposed to be  _ engaged  _ to. It only took Temari few steps past the first cross hall to find that Shikamaru had captured a screaming, wailing Mika with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, and she let loose a predatory grin when Mika realized that she was right behind Shikamaru— and not only was she there, but she was angry, and out of the two of Mika's captors, well… she was the one that was out for blood. 

"My money says the poison bottle is in his right jacket pocket," Shikamaru commented lightly as Temari strode past him. 

Mika's eyes began to move frantically back and forth, and he spewed some bullshit about real feelings, but Temari tuned him out, grabbing the bottle that had been right where Shikamaru said it would be. She shook it mockingly under his nose before sticking it in her bra to turn in as evidence before nodding to Shikamaru to dispel the jutsu. Reluctantly, he nodded back and released it, and Temari took the opportunity to slap Mika hard across the face. 

"Well, I can certainly say I had real feelings for you,  _ Mika-kun _ ," she smirked, accentuating his name with a kick to his groin. "Only, they were loathing and disgust. Do you know just  _ how bad  _ you are at literally everything?"

"W-well, I— "

She didn't let him finish before she grabbed him by the neck and let him see just why she was known and feared as one of the Sand Siblings. 

(When Ino asked what had happened to Mika later as she was healing his wounds before his interrogation, Temari shrugged and told her that he'd fallen out a window.)

Shikamaru stayed close to Temari's side as everything unfolded— she was eternally grateful for his genius, because with it, he could determine exactly what she needed and when she needed it. She would have fallen over three times while she was standing over Gaara's hospital bed if Shikamaru hadn't steadied her, and he even eventually convinced her to sit down. 

For all his genius, though, even Shikamaru couldn't stop the elders from harassing her even in the hospital waiting room. 

Oh, they let Temari have it. They told her that she owed them a marriage, that she was a sorry shinobi if she couldn't tell a spy from a suitor, and every other stupid and ridiculous thing that a person their age could come up with. On and on they went, until Temari could feel Shikamaru squirming beside her, and she just  _ knew  _ he was about to do something drastic. 

It only took thirty more seconds of nagging before Shikamaru snapped. 

"Fuck it," he grumbled, grabbing Temari by the front of her dress and kissing her senseless in fron of the elders who were, at  _ long last _ , speechless. 

Then, to Temari's surprise, one of them spoke up.

"You know, that is actually quite an advantageous match!"

"A distinguished member of the Nara clan… not bad."

"Assistant to the Hokage and genius shinobi!"

"A diplomat, and a well-mannered one at that. I could accept it."

One by one, the elders all agreed (all of them!) that Shikamaru was a fine husband. Temari was as red as a beet, but Shikamaru turned to her and laughed. 

"You know, they have a point," he told her, wearing his trademark Nara smirk and looking so damn sexy she could just  _ eat  _ him. "I'm a hell of a catch."

"Baka," she chuckled, but took his hand in hers, never even bothering to refute the elders. She wouldn't have won against them anyways, not when her heart was saying the same things… 

… and Shikamaru certainly didn't seem to mind the idea at all. 

Maybe, just maybe, this was an arrangement she could live with. 


End file.
